Grain-separator



(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2. F I' LANDIS GRAIN SEPARATOB..

Patented Mar. 3,- 1891.

(No Medel.) 5 Sheets Sheet 3.

' F. I'. LANDIS.

GRAIN SEPARATOR- No. 447,438. Patented Mar. 3, 1891 IIIII/ IIIIIIIHII III III# lll l IIIIIII/ IIIIIIIIIIII .IIIII II l me cams uns en., mum-mno., msmnmon, n. c.

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(NoModei.) 5 sheets-sheen 4.

F. F. LANDIS.

5. S. I D N A L nr. nr.

GRAIN SEPARATOR.

Patented Mar. 3,1891.

wz noms refus en., vmmnrmo., msnmmau n c NiTED STATES vAfrENT OFFICE.

FRANK F. LANDIS, OFA VAYNESBOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

GRAIN-SEPARATOR.l

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,483, dated March 3, 1891.

Application tiled September 15, 1890. Serial No. 365,074. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANK F. LANDIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vaynes-.

borough, in the county of Franklin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new 'and useful Improvements inv Grain-Sepators; and l do hereby declare the follo'wing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appert-ains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to grain-separators; and it consists in the novel construction and combination of the parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, whereby the straw is the cranks. Fig. 7 is an end View of the picker,

partly in section, and looking toward the cranks on the opposite side from the View shown in Fig. G. Fig. S is a detail longitudinal section through the two straw-shakers. Fig. 9 is a part plan view of one of the strawshakers.

A is the casing of themachine, andB is the thrashing-cylinder under which the material to be thrashed is fed from the feed-hopper a. C is the concave, and b is the grain-pan which carries away the small broken straw, chaff, grain, and other small matter to the rear of the machine. D is'the screen for removing the chaff from the grain, and d is a fan for forcing a blast of air through the screen D. D is the cleaning apparatus for the grain below the screen D, and d is the elevatorshaft. None of these parts form a portion of the subject-matter of the present invention, but are shown so that it may clearly be seen how the novel parts, which are hereinafter fully described, are situated with relation to them.

which extends beneath the picker.

F. is the picker, which is shown in detail in Figs. 3 to 7. The picker-shaft 2 is driven by intermediate wheels from the belt-pulley 3 (shown in Fig. 2) and has two heads 4 and 5 secured upon it inside the machine-casing. A series .of shafts, preferably consisting of hollow tubes 6, extends between the heads 4 and 5. The head et is provided with circular projections 7, upon which the ends of the tubes are journaled, and the other ends of the tubes are journaled in bearings 8 in the opposite head 5. Small cranks 9 are secured on the ends of the tubes 6 beyond the head 5, and lO are rollers journaled upon the pins l1, projecting from the said cranks. A series of picker-bars 12 project from each of the shafts or tubes 6, and the revolution of the picker in the direction of the arrow causes the mixed straw and grain to be carried from the slats below the thrashing-cylinder and delivered to the beaters over the partit-ion 13, which extends transversely across the machine. vThe picker shakes the straw and muchof the loose grain falls out of it into the grain-pan b, Strippers 14 are secured to the top of the partition 13 between each-row of picker-bars. These strippers preferably consist-of a central curved web provided with inclined side flanges 15 upon each side of it; but they may be made of various forms to accomplish the desired purpose of preventing the straw from winding around the picker.

A stationary cam 16 of peculiar shape is secured to the side vof the'machine-casing, and the rollers 10 are arranged to run in the groove 17 of this cam. That half of the cam toward the front of the machine has the groove formed of circular arcs, and while the rollers run in this portion of the said cam-groove the,

pickerarms project in lines drawn radially from the center of the picker-shaft. The path of the ends of the picker-arms is indicated by a dotted line in the drawings. The

shape of the cam is arranged so that the cranks are partially revolved soon after the ends of the pickerarms pass the center at the top of the picker, and the said arms are then suddenly drawn inward and backward, asindicated by the dotted line showing their path AIOO of travel. This movement of the cranks by the cam rocks the shafts 6, and the shape of the rear portion of the cam-groove is such that the picker-bars are inclined rearwardly from their radial position while they are passing the partition 1S and reassume their radial position when they pass the center at the bottom of the picker. This motion of' the picker-bars causes them to pick up the straw from the th rashin gcyl inder and throw it over t-he partition to the beaters with great ease and regularity. The cam 16 is provided with a flange 18lfor bolting it to the machine-casing, and 19 is an opening in the side of the cam through which the crank-rollers may be removed when required.

I*` and F are the beaters through which the straw from the picker passes. These beaters consist of fiat plates f, arranged in the shape of a cross and extending across the machine inside the casing. Each beater is secured upon a similar shaft. f', and the plates are arranged so that the tops of the plates of one beater come midway between the tops of the plates of the other beater as the said beaters are revolved in the direction of the arrows in Fig. l. A toothed wheel 21 is secu-red to the shaft of the upper beater F and gears into a toothed wheel 22, ot' equal diameter, secured upon the shaft of the lower beater F, so that the plates of the beaters are always kept in the same relative position and the beaters revolve with equal speed. Motion is imparted to the beaters by means of a toothed wheel 23, secured on the picker-shat't, and an idle toothed wheel 24, journaled on a bearing-pin 25, secured to the machine-casing, and the said wheel 24 gears into the said toothed wheels 23 and 22. The straw is pressed and beaten between the beaters to facilitate the subsequent removal of the grain from it.

VGr is a revolving fork secured upon the shaft g behind the beaters. This fork consists of an open frame provided with bars G', extending across the machine, and the said bars are provided with teeth g for catching the straw from between the beaters and throwing it downwardly and rearwardly upon the first shaker, which will be more fully described hereinafter. A toothed wheel 26 is secured upon the shaft g, and 27 is a toothed wheel which is journaled upon a pin 28, projecting from the machine-casing. The wheel 27 gears into the wheels 2C and 21, and these wheels are proportioned so that the fork G makes two revolutions to each revolution of the beaters. The beaters have cach four plates f, and the fork has two toothed bars G', so that a forked bar is always presented opposite each discharge-passage between the beaters formed bythe opposed receding plates. The fork drags forward the bunch of straw delivered through the said passage by the said plates of the beaters. The fork revolves with a greater velocity than the beaters, and the pressed and beaten straw is therefore loosened and dragged apart, so that the grain 44a/tss may fall ont of it freely. 'Phe straw falls upon the first shaker after beingopcratcd ou by the beaters and the loosening-fork.

The shakers are shown in detail in Fig. 8, which is drawn to a larger scale than Fig. 1.

Il is the first straw-shaker, and consists of aseries of longitudinal bars 7L', provided with ratchet-teeth 30, adapted to cause the straw to be carried to the rear, and 71. are forwardly and upwardly inclined slats extending across the shakerbetween the said longitudinal bars. These slats are arranged substantially radial to a point above the rear end of the shaker, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 8, so that. the inclination of Athe slats increases from the front to the rear of the first shaker.

I is the second shaker, behind and below the first shaker II and similarly constructed of a series of longitudinal bars i', provided with ratchet-teeth 30 and inclined cross-slats t' between the said bars. The slats 'L' are similar to the slats 7L, but are arranged substantially radial to a point below the front end of the second shaker, so that the inclination of the slats t' decreases from the front toward the rear of the shaker I.

v The rear end of the shaker II and the front end of the shaker I are supported and carried by the cranksj of the crank-shaft J, which is revolved by means of the belt-pulley J', sccured upon the end of the said shaft, which projects through the machine-casing, as shown in Fig. 2.

The front end of the shaker II is supported by the links 7c, pivoted upon the pins la', projecting from the machine-casing, and the lower ends of the said links afford a means for vibrating the grain-pan, as shown in Fig. 1. Four diagrams are shown in dotted lines upon the shaker II in Fig. S to illustrate its motion at different points. At the front end, over the links 7a, and where the slats have a very slight inclination, this motion is a simple longitudinal reciprocation in a circular arc. Atthe rear end of the shaker Il, beyond the center of the crank-shaft, and where the slats have a very steep inclination, the motion is elliptical and in the direction of the arrow close to the end diagram, and the greatest movement is in a diagonal direction and toward the second shaker- I. `The rear end of the shaker II therefore has a forwardly and upwardly tossing motion as well as a longitudinally-reciprocating motion. Intermediate points of the shaker have movements as indicated by the shape of the diagrams at those point-s, and the inclination ot' the slats increaseswith the increase of the tossing n10- tion. '[his peculiar construction and motion shakes the straw very thoroughly, turns it over as it is carried to the rear, and permits the heavy grain and small chaff to fall through the slats into the grain-pan. The short straw and large chad do not fall through the shaker, because the inclination of the slats is so arranged with regard to the tossing motion as to prevent this, and also to prevent the iro 1o the pins m afford a means for vibrating the grain-screen and cleaning devices, as indicated in Fig. l. The pins n on the rear of the links m, between the shaker and the pivots m', support and vibrate the gather-board N for the grain and chaif below the shaker I, the front end of the said gather-board being carried by the links n', as shown in Fig. 1. The gather-board `N is provided with forwardly-projecting serrations on its bottom,

zo and the upward andforward motion of the pins n causes the grain and small chaff to be carried along the gather-board aftey they fall through the second shaker I, and discharges them upon the front end of the grain-screen.

The action of the second shaker I is very much like that of the first shaker I-I, hereinbefore described. The six diagrams drawn in dotted lines show its motion at different points. At the'front end the motion is both 3o tossing and longitudinally reciprocating and is rearward and upward in the direction of the arrow. At the extreme rear end beyond the links the motion is chiefly longitudinal, but there is also a tossing movement, and the direction of the motion, as indicated by the arrow, is the reverse of that at the-front end of the shaker. A gather-board p, provided with forwardly-projecting serrations p', is secured at the rear end instead of the open slats.

4o Over the links m the motion of the shaker I is practically a simple longitudinal reciprocation in a circular arc and the slats are arranged with very little inclination over the said links. The straw, which falls upon the front end of the shaker I, is tossed, turned over, and carried rearwardly until it comes over the links m, where it is merely shaken. At the eXtreme rear end of the shaker I the straw is again tossed and is turned over in 5o the reverse direction, and the grain which falls from it is carried forward under the straw by the gather-boardp and is discharged through the slats. The longitudinal motion ot' the straw is continuous toward the rear;

but it is slow at the extreme rear end of the shaker I, because it is there tossed and turned over in the reverse direction, and the propelling action of the ratchet-teeth of the 1ongitudinal bars is partially neutralized. The

6o straw is delivered out of the rear end of the toothed pinion 39 on the hub ot' the belt-pulley 37 gears into the toothed wheel 23,secured upon the picker-shaft 2, and revolves the picker and the beaters and revolving fork, as hereinbefore described. The belt 36 also passes over a tension-pulley 4-0 and over the pulley 4l for revolving the grain-cleaning devices and around the pulley 42 on the strawstacker shaft d.,

T he belt-pulley7 J ,which revolves the cranlv shaft which operates the two shakers, is arranged to bear against the belt bothat the top and bottom, and the-belt 36 and the various pulleys move in the directions indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2.

What I claim is" l. In a separator, the combination, with a revoluble picker for takin g the straw from the thrashing-cylinder, of two revoluble beaters provided with intercurrent plates for l the straw from the picker to pass between anda fork provided with rows ot teeth and revolving at a higher speed than the beaters, a row of teeth being arranged to come behind and between each pair of opposed beater-plates, whereby the straw may be loosened, land toothed driving-wheels positively connecting the shafts of the said picker, beaters, and fork, substantially as set forth.

2. In a separator, the combination, with thc two beaters, each provided with four equidistant plates intercurrent with each other for the straw to pass between. of the intergearing toothed wheels secured upon the beatershaf ts, a fork provided with two rows of teeth and mounted on a shaft behind the saidbeaters, and intermediate toothed wheels connected to one Vof the beater-wheels and revolving the said fork at twice the speed of the said beaters, whereby the straw delivered from between the beaters may be loosened by the fork, substa-ntiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a separator, the combination, with a straw-shaker consisting of longitudinal bars provided with ratchet-teeth and a series of inclined cross-slats supported between the said bars and arranged witha decreasin g angularity to the longitudinal path ofthe material over the slats, of an operating device,such as a crank, forimparting alongitudinal reciproj eating motion to all the slats and a tossing movement to those slats having the greatest inclination, the said tossing motion decreasing in extent proportional to the decreasing inclination of the slats in the series, substantially as set forth.

4. In a separator, the combination, with a straw-shaker provided with a series of i11- clined cross-slats arranged substantially radial to a point near one end of the shaker, of an operating device, such as a crank, operatively connected to that end of the shaker near the said point for reciprocating the shaker longitudinally and also vertically in proportion to the inclination of the said slats, substantially as set forth.

IOO

IIO

5. ln a separator, the combination, with a straw-shaker consisting of longitudinal bars provided with ratel1et-teeth and a series of inclined cross-slats supported between the said bars, of a crank for imparting motion to one end of the shaker, pivoted supporting-links near the other end of the shaker, and a gatherhoard forming a eontin nation of the said series of cross-slats and situated at the extreme end of the shaker beyond the said links and having serrations arranged in a reverse direction to the said ratchet-teeth to cause the grain falling upon it to be carried in the reverse direction from the straw above, substantiallyy as set forth.

G. In a separator, the combination, with the first inclined straw-shaker and the links pivotally supporting its front end, of the second inclined straw-shaker arranged behind the first said shaker and the links pivotally supporting the rear end of the said second shaker,

the revoluble cranks supporting and actuati ing the meeting ends of the two said shakers, the serrated gather-board under the second shaker, pivoted atits rear end to the support,

ing-link of the second shaker, and the links pivotally supporting the front end of the said gather-board, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a separator, the combination, with a revoluble picker for taking the straw from the thrashing-cylinder, of a pair of revolnble heaters for the straw to pass through after being raised by the picker, a revoluble fork for loosening the straw behind the said beaters, a straw-shaker provided with longitudinal toothed bars and cross-slats between the bars and arranged behind and below the said fork, and means, such as a crank, forimparting a longitudinal reciprocating and tossing motion to the said shaker, whereby the grain and chaff maybe. shaken out of the straw, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

FRANK F. LANDIS.

Vtitnesses:

HERBERT W. T. JENNER, E. R. R. HoYT. 

